Lions drop 51 on Tech

ATHENS — The celebrating began early in Athens Saturday afternoon.

For the first time in 81 games, dating to September 1998, the Concord University Mountain Lions scored more than 50 points, taking a 51-6 win over the Golden Bears of West Virginia University Tech at Callaghan Stadium.

The Mountain Lions racked up 489 yards in total offense. Senior quarterback Ryan Pimentel completed 18 of 25 throws for 294 yards. Six Concord players scored, with Chris Bates and Dustin Greenwood chalking up two touchdowns each.

Tech’s only touchdown came on a 78-yard gallop by Carlos Ross early in the second quarter. Terrance Lee blocked Tyler Armstrong’s point-after attempt. Ross’ run accounted for 42 percent of Tech’s total offensive yardage.

It’s not that the home team tried to run up the score, Concord coach Greg Quick said.

“You get into a game like that and the hard part is trying to slow it down,” he said. The last two TDs, up-the-middle runs by Bates, came at the end of long drives. Of Concord’s final 22 plays, one was a pass.

The Mountain Lion defense established itself early with two sacks on Tech’s first offensive series. They added three more in the game. The Golden Bears were 2-of-13 in third-down conversion tries.

First-year Tech coach Bill Briggs said, “We had a little difficulty with the offensive line today, and the defensive line. Those guys play both ways, so that makes it tough. And if they’re having difficulty on one side, it carries over onto the other side.

“We saw some things we could do against their defense, but without the protection, we just had a little difficulty. And they did a good job today defensing us.”

Quick said, “We had a lot of great individual efforts.”

Lee and Darryl Wilson each had five unassisted tackles.

On offense, Concord moved the chains for 24 first downs. Quick said Pimentel “probably played one of his best games here at Concord.”

Greenwood caught nine balls for 100 yards, and Kelvon Yancey and LeBryan Patterson had 96 and 95 receiving yards, respectively. They were the only wideouts active for the game.

Quick was happy for his squad, which came into the game 2-7 on the year.

“Today was probably one of the better examples of the quality of football players that they are.” He called the effort “the type of game that people can expect to be seen from Concord University in the years to come.”

“I think our seniors are leaving a good legacy of courage and perseverance that’s going to last and pay dividends in the years to come,” he added.

In the third quarter, Patterson took a 66-yard pass-and-run to the house. Three Tech plays later, Concord’s Joe Spano blocked a punt attempt and Torrince Ruth ran the ball 12 yards to the end zone.

On the home team’s next possession, running back Tank Tunstalle covered all 39 yards of a touchdown drive in two plays to raise the score to 36-6.

Then it was time for the reserves. “I thought our younger kids ... played with great enthusiasm and played well,” Quick said. “Those young kids, you need to be able to develop them. It’s very important for them to get some game time.”

With 16 seconds left in the game, Briggs sent in a 27-year-old Tech freshman and father of two, Richard Young, who promptly caught a seven-yard pass. The Golden Bears erupted in a joyous celebration of his first collegiate reception.

Briggs said, “We’re just proud to have him on the football team.”

The first-year coach said, “We are a program that really is rebuilding and is starting from scratch, and it’s going to take us some time. We’re proud of the kids. The scores look lopsided, but we are getting better every week.”